Re: Big name stars willing to make appearance for cohousing?
From: John Ullman (jsuspeakeasy.org)
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 11:17:01 -0700 (MST)
Diane Simpson wrote:           (On 11:43 PM 12/13/2001 -0500)
>Does anyone know of any big name stars who would be willing to make an
>appearance on behalf of a cohousing group?  We will be signing a joint
>venture agreement soon and the idea (although a long shot) came up of
>paying a big name star to come in to Boston and make an appearance on our
>behalf in order to attract some media attention.

As a manager of small name stars, my opinion is that bringing in even a big
name star would not necessarily do much for you cause. First of all, their
fees are going to be at least in the tens of thousands of dollars. Second,
they might actually interfere with getting your message across since the
media will see the story as about the star, not about you. (Brittany: I'm
here to promote cohousing. Reporter: That's nice. Tell me about your latest
navel piercing.)

Do you have a clear idea of what the purpose of getting publicity is? Have
you a clear plan for what you will do with media attention when you get it?
Do you have a way to respond to a lot of inquiries quickly and appropriately? 

Are you interested mainly in attracting new members? I would suggest that
your money and time might be better spent targeting groups that are likely
to have members interested in cohousing and offering them a seminar or a
speaker at regular intervals. Bring in a cohousing star, an author on new
ideas in affordable housing, an architect, etc.

By spending 5% of what a star might cost, you could hire a first rate
publicist who would help place stories about your efforts with local media.
There have been ocassional stories about cohousing and related issues in
the Seattle areas in recent years. Cohousing is interesting to the media in
itself. And for the cost of "PR for Dummies" you could polish up a media
pitch or two yourselves. There are "right ways" to approach the media, but
they are not rocket science. Perhaps a friend knows a reporter or news
staff person who would help. There may be a PR or fundraising professionals
organization that would be helpful.

Hope this helps,

John


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